Rail expansion joint



Sept. 1, 1942. Sm 2,294,860

RAIL EXPANSION JOINT- Filed April 22, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ill? Sept. 1, 1942. s. ELLSON RAIL EXPANSION JOINT Filed April 22, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 1, 1942;

e. ELLSON RAI'L EXPANSION JOINT Filed A ril 22, 1940 4' She'ts-Sheet s W ll.

Sept. 1, 1942. s. ELLSON RAIL EXPANSION JOINT Filed April 22. 1940 4 Sheets-Shea? 4 Patented Sept. 1, 1942 RAIL EXPANSION JOINT George Ellson, Leatherhead, England Application April 22, 1940, Serial No. 331,027 In Great Britain June 16, 1939 1 Claim.

This invention relates to rail expansion joints of the type in which a continuous tread surface is provided at the joint irrespective of the width of the gap between the rails.

The invention provides a rail joint having at the outer side of the joint an angle fishplate the top of which is extended upwards to form a tongue disposed within cut-away portions in the rails and lying flush with the rail heads, and including a base plate disposed beneath the joint and secured to the underlying sleepers and to the outwardly extending flange of the angle fishplate which rests directly on the base plate and not on the rail feet which are cut away to accommodate it.

The angle fishplate, base plate and sleepers combine to produce a rigid bridge piece, which is efiective in stopping knocking when the wheels pass over the expansion gap between the rail ends.

Some examples of rail joint constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail joint employing a four hole angle fishplate,

Figure 2 is the corresponding plan view,

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line IIIIII in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detail side elevation illustrating an alternative form of fishplate, and

Figure 5 is a plan view of a rail joint employing a six hole angle fishplate.

As will be clear from Figures 1-3, each of the rail ends 19 is cut away on the same side at II and the fishplate I2 at that side of the joint is angular in shape, its lower end being turned outwards to form a flange l3 and its top extended upwards to form a tongue I4 disposed within these cut-away portions II and lying flush with the rail heads 15, thus providing a continuous tread surface throughout the joint, which is provided on the other side with a fishplate IS of normal construction.

The angle fishplate i2 is disposed at the outer side of the rail (1. e. the side remote from the flanges on the wheels of the vehicles using the rails) and sloping portions I! are provided at the ends of the tread surface of the tongue l4 so that the wheels of the traffic will gradually ride on to and off the main portion thereof which lies flush with the rail heads I5. In the case of the rail joint shown in Figures 1-3, the end portions l8 of the angle fishplate l2 are cut away to a reduced depth and fit under the rail heads l5. In

the case of the rail joint shown in Figure 4, which is otherwise similar to that shown in Figures 1-3, the angle fishplate is of full depth throughout and the cut-away portions II in the rail are correspondingly longer.

A base plate I9 is provided beneath the rail joint for the purpose of preventing deflection of the rail ends and to distribute the weight of the vehicle, via the lower flange l3 of the angle fishplate l2, directly to the joint sleepers 20. This base plate may be constituted by an iron or steel casting shaped and tapered, if necessary (as shown in Figure 3) to seat the foot 2| of each rail and maintain the. rails at the proper angle of cant. The base plate I9 is attached to the sleepers 20 by bolts or screws 22 some of which pass through the flange I3 on the lower end of the angle fishplate l2. The base plate is formed at its ends and on the side opposite the angle fishplate l2 with upwardly projecting lugs 23, which abut against the rail feet 2| and ensure correct alignment of the rail ends at the joint. On the side remote from the angle fishplate, the rail feet 2| are secured to the base plate l9 by bolts 28 and clips 21.

The angle'fishplate I2 may be of cast or rolled steel, and in the case of the rail joints shown in Figures 1-4 is formed with four holes, registering with those of a standard four-hole fishplate [6 used to secure the other side of the joint, the two fishplates being fastened together by four standard fishbolts 24 passing through elongated holes 25 in the rail ends. In the joint shown in Figure 5, a longer angle fishplate is used, having six holes. In this case six standard fishbolts 24 are used, the four inner ones passing through a fourhole fishplate on the other side of the joint, and

washers 26, which are not essential, being provided between the rails and the ends of the two outer fishbolts remote from the angle fishplate. The cooperating fishplate l 6 need not necessarily have four holes. Thus, a twoor six-hole fishplate can be used as an alternative.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A rail joint comprising, in combination with the rails, a fishplate of normal construction at the inner side of the joint, an angle fishplate at the outer side of the joint which is accommodated in cut-away portions in the head and feet of the rail ends with its upper surface flush with the tread surface of the rails and forming a Hat bridge across the joint and its undersurface in alignment with the rail feet, fishbolts connecting the fishplates to the rails, a base plate disposed beneath the rail ends with the undersurface of the angle fishplate and the under surfaces of the rail ends resting directly on the base plate so that the vertical traific loads are transmitted directly from the angle fishplate to the base plate, a pair of sleepers one beneath each rail end, and means securing the base plate to the sleepers and to the angle fishplate, the angle fishplate, the normal fishplate and base plate cooperating to prevent depression of the rail ends on the passage of traffic over the joint, said sleepers being spaced apart from each other sufficiently to enable permanent way material to be tamped between them and worked under them.

GEORGE ELLSON. 

